Zootopia: My Own Interpretation
by Ellis97
Summary: On a strange, unknown eighth continent known as "Zootopia", a land inhabited by anthropomorphic mammals, reptiles, birds and primates. One fox, Nick Wilde has been living a life as a con man with an ambition to open up his own business. When he suddenly goes savage, Nick must team up with an unusual partner; Lt. Judy Hopps of the ZPD. Together, they must clear Nick's name.
1. Meet Nick Wilde

**Author's Note:**

 **And now, for something brand new folks; the director's cut of Zootopia. Personally, I think this would've made a better story than the final idea. I'm not saying that the final version is bad, I'm just saying the director's cut was more interesting and since that'll probably never see the light of day, I've decided to put it up on here, along with my own interpretations of the film.**

 **So here its...my own interpretation of that beloved Disney masterpiece: Zootopia. It may be modern, but movies don't have to be really old to be classics, they just have to be really good.**

* * *

Many millenniums ago in the past, the world had been inhabited by creatures of all sorts of shapes, colors and sizes. From the smallest ant to the biggest elephant.

Back in the beginning of the planet, animals known as "prey" had been hunted by predators for food, due to their instinctive and biological nature. There have been seven continents, but little did we humans know that there was an unknown eighth one in an uncharted location. Where is this location? No clue. No human ever found or heard of this strange place, not even Christopher Columbus. But one thing's for sure; the continent was inhabited only by animals including; mammals, reptiles, birds and primates of all shapes and sizes. No human ever set foot on that island, ever!

While prehistoric animals found a new home in the big underground, one animal discovered something; a patch of strange plants. He took a bite and soon enough, he became anthropomorphic, which means that he gained the ability of speaking human language and walking on his back legs. Soon enough, all the animals had eaten the strange plants and evolved into anthropomorphic creatures.

Unfortunately, predators still had their primal urge to consume delicious meat and hunt. To ensure that predators never gave into their primal instincts again, they invented something called a Tame Collar. The collar was programmed to give predators a small shock to their body whenever they gave into their original instincts or get agitated. They would get them around their fifth birthday, but we'll get to that later on. Right now, let's get to know our protagonists.

Our story opens in the house of a family of foxes; this is the home of our protagonist, Nick Wilde. Nick and his family lived in a place called "Zootopia", which was the name of the continent I was telling about a few paragraphs back. Now, predators didn't have much in the Zootopian world; it was mainly run by prey...prey who hated predators. In other words, if you were a predator, it would suck to live in Zootopia. But we'll get to that later. Right now, let's meet our main character.

We open at his house, where we see his family getting him ready for something very big.

"Okay Nick" said his father, Mr. John Wilde "Time for your first day of daycare"

"But I don't wanna go, pop" said Nick "I wanna stay home and play with you and mommy"

"I know son, but your mom has to stay and take care of our house and I have to find an empty building to start my business" said John "Once I find it and come up with the plans, I'll take you home, okay?"

"Yes papa" Nick nodded.

"Have a fun day at school, baby" said his mother, Miranda.

"Thanks mama" Nick hugged his mother.

John drove Nick to the daycare, where Nick felt nervous. He had never been away from his family before and this was the first time he had been on his own. He walked inside and saw a bunch of animals playing, most which were prey.

"Hello" he said shyly "My name is Nick and I am new here"

A group of prey consisting of a beaver, a goat, a hippo, a zebra and horse then walked over to Nick, with angry faces.

"You're a fox!" said the beaver.

"Yeah, I am" Nick nodded "Why?"

The beaver snapped his fingers and the other prey animals started holding him down.

"What are you doing?" Nick asked, petrified.

"You really think we would play with a fox without a muzzle?" the mean beaver, asked grinning evilly.

The bullies then put a muzzle right on Nick and laughed right at him as he started to panic and cry.

"Aw, widdle foxy woxy got hurt" the beaver laughed sadistically "What're you gonna do, cry? HA HA HA HA!"

Nick struggled to get the muzzle off, but all the other kids kept laughing and laughing at him. Nick ran to the hallway and finally pulled the muzzle off, then he buried his face into his knees and started to cry.

Just then, a kid had been walking by. It was a young white, arctic fox. He tapped on Nick's shoulder.

"Excuse me, are you okay?" he asked, gently.

Nick turned up and saw the other fox smiling at him. His sniffles died down a little.

"Hi, I'm Finnick" said the other fox "What's your name?"

"My name's Nick" Nick wiped away his tears.

"You're new here right? So am I" said Finnick "It's nice to meet you, Nick. Wanna go play?"

"Sure" said Nick "I'd love to play"

Finnick and Nick walked together back to the classroom.

"Boy, you're pretty short" Nick remarked.

"Don't call me that!" Finnick said angrily "I hate being short"

"I'm sorry" said Nick.

"It's okay, but don't call me short again" Finnick said.

"Okay" Nick smiled.

Nick and Finnick played together, while the other animals (who were unfortunately, all preys) gave them dirty looks.

"Why are they looking at us like that?" Nick asked his new friend.

"Well, prey hate people like us" said Finnick "So they treat us differently"

"Oh" Nick said sadly.

Soon enough, it was snack time and the kids were being served graham crackers. Nick and Finnick sat alone at their own table.

"I love grahamm crackers and lemonade, Nick" said Finnick.

"Yeah" Finnick agreed "That's one good thing about this place"

Just then, someone else arrived at the table. It was a fat cheetah cub.

"Hello" he smiled "Mind if I sit with you?"

"Sure, you can sit with us" said Nick.

"Thanks" said the cheetah cub "My name is Benjamin Clawhauser"

"My name is Nick and this my new best friend, Finnick" Nick said cheerfully.

"Hey" Finnick waved to Benjamin.

"Aww" Benjamin gushed at Finnick "You look so cute, you widdle fox"

Finnick snapped his teeth and growled "Don't do that again! You got that?"

"Sorry" said Benjamin.

"So your name's Benjamin, right?" asked Nick.

"Yeah" Benjamin nodded.

"How about 'Benny' instead?" suggested Nick.

"I'd love that" Benjamin smiled "Thanks"

Just then, three other animals arrived; a purple panther, a polar bear and an alligator.

"May we sit with you three?" asked the panther.

"Sure" said Nick "Take a seat"

The polar bear, panther and alligator took a seat right next to the trio and they started to eat their graham crackers and drink their lemonade.

"My name's Nick" Nick introduced himself "And these are my friends; Benny and Finnick"

"Nice to meet you" Benny said cheerfully.

"Same here" Finnick deadpanned.

"Hi my name's Klondike" the polar bear introduced himself.

"My name's Jasper" the panther introduced himself.

"And I'm Gator" said the alligator.

The six friends started to talk for a while and soon enough, they became fast friends; outcasts driven by a society dominated by prey's. Since then, Nick and his five new friends had formed a rather unlikely bond together and had been pretty close as they could be, but not too close.

Little did these boys know that something big would change their lives forever.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Here it is! The first chapter in my own interpretation of Zootopia. Stay tuned, because there's more to come.**


	2. A Fox and his Family

Over the years, Nick, Finnick, Benny, Gator, Klondike and Jasper had become inseparable and closer than ever. They did everything together and stuck together through thick and thin. Hail and hardships. They also grew up together and had attended school together.

One day in elementary school, they had gone on a field trip with their class to a museum to learn all about something they were utmost curious about. Remember those shock collar things I told you about before? Well, this was invented to keep the carnivores from reverting back to their primal instincts. Whenever they got angry or agitated, the collar would issue a small shock to their body. Needless to say, this was very cruel and inhumane and none of the predators were fond of it.

The teacher split up the preys and predators into two separate groups. Naturally, a majority of them were prey's and the only predators were our heroes.

"Now kids, you're probably wondering why you predators have to wear these shock collars" the teacher told the kids, standing in the middle "Well, this is so you won't become feral and try to eat prey like me and the rest of your schoolmates"

"This sucks, dude" Finnick told Nick.

"Yeah" said Nick "How come we have to wear these stupid things, but those other animals don't?"

"I guess it's just the natural order of things" Jasper sighed.

"And the worse part is that whenever a prey agitates us or is mean to us predators, they get away with it" Gator added "This is totally unfair, man"

"But the only way to take them off is if we have something concerning our necks" Klondike said "So the doctors have a special device that unlocks them"

"Well I'm not going to let being a predator do this to me" Nick told his friends "I'm going to do everything in my power to be the best one ever and we'll get these collars off, somehow"

"You're right Nick" said Benny "We can do anything we set our mind to and we are going to stand out among those other mammals"

"I know, we'll form our own club!" said Nick "Wild Times"

"And we'll be dedicated to bringing equal rights to us predators" said Gator "We deserve anything that the prey's get!"

And so, Nick and his friends had formed their secret club "Wild Times". They would play games, have sleepovers, secret meetings, make money and try to think of ways to get predators out of their collars without getting in trouble. Their folks had become great friends as well. It looks like a generation of families had just begun.

Twenty years had gone by and Nick and the rest of his Wild Times friends had become closer than ever. In fact, you could even call them a family. They had tried doing various odd jobs around Zootopia, but they didn't last long.

One day, Nick was taking some sort of baby in a stroller. It was Finnick dressed up as a little boy and Nick masquerading himself as a father.

"You sure this is going to work, Nick?" asked Finnick "This is embarrassing, dude"

"Don't be such a negative Nancy, Finn" said Nick "All we have to do is pull this con and we'll have enough money for all six of us"

"Fine" Finnick said "But you has better not speak of this to the others. Cause if you do, I'll bite your face off! If I didn't have this stupid collar on"

The two entered some sort of elephant-managed ice cream parlor called Jumbeaux.

"Here we are" said Nick "Now don't talk"

The two entered the ice cream shop and went standing in line. They were ready to pull off their scam.

"Excuse me" Nick raised his hand.

The elephant manager looked down and saw Nick and Finnick.

"I'd like to have a jumbo pop for my son, please" said Nick "Which color would you like, son?"

Finnick toddled over to the display of jumbo pops and pointed to the red one.

"The red one, perfect" said Nick "I'll have that!"

"Forget it pal!" said the manager "We don't serve predators! So beat it!"

"Please sir, we'd really like a jumbo pop" Nick pleaded.

The manager took out a sign "Listen fox, you probably can't read, but the sign says 'WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE TO ANYONE' and that includes you! So beat it"

"It's a shame though" said Nick "Cause my boy loves elephants, dreams of becoming one when he gets bigger. You don't want to crush his dreams, do you?"

Finnick then put an elephant nose and blowed a little horn noise. The manager couldn't say 'no' to such a cute face and finally gave in.

Nick and Finnick then walked out carrying the jumbo pop and into an alley.

"Alright, now for Phase Two, son" Nick said mockingly.

"Don't call me that again" Finnick growled.

"Whatever" said Nick "Let's get this show on the road"

Nick climbed up to the rooftop of a building, melted the jumbo pop and poured it through some gutters, which landed in some jugs provided by Finnick. The two then walked over to their house and froze the juice into paw-shaped holes and froze them into popsicles.

"Now to make the illusion complete" said Nick.

The two foxes then sold the popsicles to a bunch of lemmings and then sold the sticks to some construction workers. Finally, when they were alone, Finnick got angry.

"Alright Nick, now listen here!" he told his friend "Why would you make me a stupid little kid? I'm a grown adult Arctic fox! It's in my species!"

"Relax" said Nick "You're going to get yourself zapped"

Finnick got more angry and started "Listen you! I'm gonna-"

Nick kept trying to calm his friend down, but nothing he could do worked. Just when Nick was about to get attacked, Finnick got zapped by his collar. Just then, Gator came riding at the scene and the duo got in to avoid a public disturbance.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **It looks like Nick and his friends have formed a little club of their own to make predators get equal rights, but it also looks like they're trying to resort to a life of crime? Why? Well let's find out in the next chapter.**


	3. Wild Times!

The continent of Zootopia was divided into several different countries including; Downtown, Sahara Square, Tundratown, Little Rodentia, the Rainforest, Zoo City, the Savanna, Meadowland, the Canal, the Marshlands, the Nocturnal District and Outback Island.

The whole continent had been said to give all the animals, well only to herbivores. If you were a prey, you would be given everything; the best money, the best food, the best houses and the best careers. Heck! They were even treated like celebrities. No matter what a prey did, they were always assumed to be 100% innocent. But for the predators, it was a sad different story; since they were always assumed to be dangerous people, they had to fend for themselves in the world, even if it meant becoming criminals. For Nick and the rest of his friends, it was becoming a team of scandal artists.

Nick, Finnick and Gator arrived at the house where they, Jasper, Klondike and Benny lived. It really wasn't that big, so our friends didn't have a lot of money and a few of them had to share their rooms (there were only two).

"Hey guys" said Nick as he walked in.

"Hey Nick, hey Finnick, hey Gator" said Benny.

"Great to see you three made it" Klondike added "So how was your day?"

"Some stupid elephant kept telling us to get lost" Nick sat on the table "So it really was difficult for us to pull off today's scam"

"And I had to be the baby again!" Finnick added "I hate being the baby!"

"That's nothing" said Klondike "Earlier today, some penguins tied me up, threw me onto an iceberg and tried to make me drift away at sea"

"That's nothing" said Panther "I was going to buy us some groceries today and some idiot monkeys swiped them! I tried to tell the owner, but he wouldn't help me just because I'm a panther"

"I went to buy some donuts, but the manager wouldn't let me buy any" Benny stated "They said they had the right to refuse service to carnivores like us"

"Been there" Nick remarked.

"I was just minding my own business when all of a sudden, some lemmings ran over my tail and laughed at me" said Gator "People saw it and didn't even care"

"I hate Zootopia" said Finnick "Nobody likes us predators and prey's get to have all the fun"

Yep. No matter what, prey's ran the continent and predator's didn't get anything.

"Yeah" said Jasper "Whenever they do something to us, we get in trouble and they get off scot-free"

"Wish there was a place where we could roam free without these stupid shock collars" Benny sighed.

"That way we could have as much fun as we wanted" Gator added.

"Not to mention feast on tasty and juicy meat" Jasper added "I've always wanted to try pork chorizo"

"And no prey's to bully us" Klondike added.

"Like some kind of family fun center" Finnick snapped his fingers.

"You just gave me a perfect idea, guys" said Nick "We could make that place happen! But we're going to need some money to do so"

"How are we going to get any money?" asked Benny.

"Simple" said Nick "I'll call Ike and see if he has anything I can use to build the model of our place"

"And I'll call Reggie to see if he would like to help" Gator added.

Reggie was a lion that Nick and his friends befriended during their childhood. He always had dreams of being king like history had anticipated his species as. Ike was a black and white beagle who had spent his life as a homeless street urchin after his family was taken by some bulls. Luckily, the six friends had taken them in. This meant more space had to be had, which was convenient since they didn't have a lot of stuff on account of they were poor.

"You don't have to rub it in" Nick told the narrator.

Sorry, just reminding the readers, just in case they haven't been paying attention.

"Can you just get back to the story?" asked Finnick.

Yes, I believe I will. A few days later, our heroes had finished building the model and were ready to get their business loan. Nick went inside the bank to propose his new idea.

"What does every predator in this city want? A hotspot! An escape from everyday life! A place where it's main priorities are fun and games" Nick told the banker "Say hello to..."

Nick unveiled his model right before the banker's eyes.

"...WILD TIMES!" he finished "It's a little fun zone for Zootopia's most under appreciated race; Predators! They say you can't buy happiness, but now you can. Only $19.95 each! Look, I have the staff, I've found a building and I have the plans all worked out, but all I need is a loan from the bank. Will you help me?"

The lemming banker grabbed a stamp that said "REJECTED" and stamped it right onto Nick's paper. Nick tried every other bank around Zootopia, but they all rejected his loan applications, now matter how sincere he was. All just because he was a fox, he couldn't get any credit from any of the banks. He went back outside to his friends, who were all bummed out from traveling around the place.

"It's hopeless guys" said Benny "We've tried every bank and they won't help us"

"I guess we should just give up guys" Ike sadly said "I mean, we've done every single thing we could"

"It's days like this when I wish I were a rabbit" said Reggie "That way we could get the money"

"This sucks dude" said Finnick "We'll never make predators feel welcome and we'll never achieve our goal"

"Guys just remember that we're a club" said Gator "And as a club, we have to stick together and look out for each other! We can't give up now"

"Well there's one thing we can do, but it would be totally unethical" Reggie told them.

"What would be unethical?" asked Benny.

"We could go to the Arctic district and get money from the mob, but we could get in trouble" Reggie replied.

"Guys, we have to do this" said Nick "The banks won't help us, so we'll have to go to the mob for help. Desperate times call for desperate measures..."

A few hours later, our heroes had finally made it to Tundratown in the Arctic North district of the continent, where they were to meet the mob boss, Klosov the Polar Bear. They snuck to the back of the building and Nick knocked on the door nervously. Just then, two eyes peeked through some sort of slot.

"What's the word?" asked the person hiding behind the door.

"Frosty and Frozen" Nick whispered.

The polar bear opened the door and Nick approached the boss, Koslov.

"You call fox?" asked Koslov.

"Yes sir, I did" said Nick "You see, my friends and I are making a fun zone for predators like us. I have the building, the staff and the plans, but I don't have any money to fund it and you're our last hope. So would you please make a widdle foxes wish come true?"

Koslov snapped his fingers and lent Nick a big stack of money.

"Pay back" said Koslov.

"Thanks" Nick backed out of the building "I will use it wisely"

Nick ran out of the place and back to his friends, who were catching snowflakes with their tongues.

"So how'd it go, Nick?" asked Reggie.

"Guys, we're in the money" Nick showed them the huge paper stack.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **It looks like Nick and his friends have found their silverly lining; they've started their own business just for carnivores. Unfortunately, it looks like they've gotten their funding illegally. Hopefully, the cops won't find out about it. Stay tuned for more.**


	4. Got Some Wild Times

Wild Times was an exclusive family fun center/amusement park made just for predators by predators. It was a place where predators could run free without their stupid collars, go back to their roots, have fun, eat all the meat they could feast on and loose  
all their cares and troubles.

Unfortunately since the place was illegally funded, Nick and his friends had to make sure that the location and park was a secret from those bigoted preys.

To make sure no one found out, Nick purchased a clinic for predators and used it to create a secret underground tunnel, leading to the location of Wild Times, which was right underneath a bridge.

After nearly seventeen months of development and many funds from the mob, Wild Times and the clinic had finally been opened.

Nick, Benny, Jasper, Gator, Klondike, Finnick, Reggie and Ike all gathered up for their meeting after over a year of developing their dream.

"Good work, everyone" said Nick "We've finally achieved our goal. Now all we need to do is figure out how to get the word out without being caught by the police. Anybody got any ideas?"

"I've got an idea" Benny said as he raised his hand.

"Anybody got any ideas?" Nick looked at his friends.

"Me! Pick me!" Benny exclaimed as he kept his hand raised.

"Anyone at all?" Nick looked around.

Benny finally screamed "FOR THE LOVE OF HUMANITY! PICK ME!"

"How about you, Benny?" asked Nick.

"Thank you, Nick" said Benny "Why don't we secretly pass flyers to all the preds we can find by secretly slipping them into their pockets?"

"Wow Benny" said Jasper "That's not a bad idea my man"

"Yeah" said Gator "We can pass them through to them and the cops and prey will never know"

"Then it's settled" said Nick "We'll secretly slip flyers in the pockets of each predator we can find. We have to make sure that no cops or prey's are around or we're through and I'll never pay back my debt to Koslov"

"Don't worry, Nick" said Benny "We won't let you down. Since we were kids we were a team and friends stick together through thick and thin!"

"Hail and hardships" Reggie added.

"Good" said Nick "So here's the deal guys; Finnick and I will stay here in Zoo City, Klondike will go into Tundra Town, Jasper will take the Rainforest, Benny and Reggie will go to the Savanna, Gator will take the Marshlands and Ike will take the Meadowlands.  
We'll meet back here once we've given out all the flyers. Remember, make sure no prey or cop is present, they can't find out"

"Got it Nick" said the gang.

After several hours of going across the continent secretly passing flyers to different types of predators, the gang finally met back at the apartment.

"Good work everyone" said Nick "Now that we've given out all the flyers, all we've gotta do is get dressed and be ready by 7:00pm tonight"

"Tonight?" asked Finnick "We're opening tonight?"

"Yep" said Nick "I've always wanted to open a fun center on Friday nights. They're always the best time for partying after a long week"

"You got me there" said Gator.

Later that night, many predators had lined up in front of Nick's new clinic. When they went inside, they all got their collars removed with the medical device used to remove enough, they went through the secret underground tunnel underneath  
the clinic and finally were in front of Wild Times. And the best part was; no preys or cops in sight.

The predators gathered up for the grand opening. Nick, Benny, Finnick, Gator, Klondike, Jasper, Reggie and Ike were standing in front of the building, ready to open up the place.

"Greetings fellow predators from across Zoo City and all of Zootopia" Nick spoke into a microphone "Have you always wanted a place where you can roam free with no collars whatsoever? Have you always wanted to embrace your animal heritage?Have you  
always wanted to try a juicy steak? Well, now your dreams have come true! It is my honor as a law abiding citizen to honor you fellow predators a new place for you like you've never seen...Welcome to the grand opening of Wild Times!"

The whole crowd cheered with gusto as they heard the announcement.

"And that lovely popstar, Gazelle will be joining us for the ribbon cutting ceremony" said Nick.

The crowd cheered with even more gusto.

"Unfortunately, she isn't coming" Nick finished.

"Awww" the crowd moaned, disappointed.

"No prey is allowed here" said Nick "So I will be doing the honor"

Nick grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the red ribbon, which caused everyone to cheer with so much gusto and Klondike opened up the doors, which caused a whole stampede of predators to run inside. Nick and his friends watched the crowd run inside.

"Gentlemen" he told the staff "This'll be a night we shan't forget"

"I have no idea what the word 'shan't' means, but I'm totally with you" said Benny.

"Then let's party!" Nick shouted.

Everybody ran inside the building to enjoy the party. Inside of Wild Times, everyone washaving an awesome time without their Tame Collars to bring them down or any prey to bully them. There were rides, an arcade and a food court (with meat) and  
some cool party music playing.

Benny was enjoying the roller coaster with other cheetahs, Finnick was conversing with other fennec foxes (I finally fixed that error), Gator was surfing the swamp, Reggie joined other lions in the Balls of Yarn Pit, Jasper was busting out the jams with  
his new career as the DJ, Ike was playing with squeaky toys in the canine room with other dogs, Klondike was diving into the icy water catching fish with his mouth and Nick was having the time of his life.

Felineswere chasing dots from laser pointers, birds of prey were soaring in a virtual reality setting of the desert, all the carnivores were eating meaty snacks (such as ribs, steaks, burgers, hot dogs, chorizo and so much more), everyone was sublimating  
their hunting and running instincts with video games in the arcade and they were all getting down on the dance floor.

Within just a few weeks, Nick and the gang made some high profits and they were able to pay back their debt to Koslov with interest.

"Here you go, buddy" Nick said as he handed the polar bear a stack of cash "All paid up"

"Thank you, fox" said Koslov "This place not so bad, but remember that you only got it courtesy of me!"

"Right" Nick nodded "I won't forget it. Fox's honor"

"Good" said Koslov "But here is business tip; raise price for churros. They big hit with customers"

"I'll make a note of that" Nick said as he wrote down the paper.

"But be careful" said Koslov "Zootopia is like little baby...doesn't like to be changed"

"Don't worry, I couldn't change this even if I could" said Nick.

Yep. Things had been looking up. Unfortunately, a non-predator had decided to visit Wild Times; Officer Judy Hopps, a rabbit cop.

"Excuse me, Dr. Wilde" she said to Nick "But I would like to see you"

"What is it, rabbit?" asked Nick "And why have you infiltrated a 'Predator Only' medical facility? I demand to know"

"Well sir" said Judy "Mayor Swinton had sent me to investigate what was going on. You seedoc, we've recently been getting some reports on suspicious activity around here and I want to investigate"

"Sorry sweetheart, but I believe there's nothing to worry about" Nick folded his arms "I think it's best for you to leave, officer"

Nick showed Judy the business license displayed in the store as proof.

"Very well then" said Judy "Guess nothing's wrong here"

While Judy was leaving, she nearly saw Benny going towards the secret entrance to Wild Times.

Judy was not a dumb bunny; she knew something was going on.

"Obviously, something is afoot here" she thought "I'm going to investigate this further. After all, so many predators is not a good sign"

That night, Judy snuck into the clinic without getting caught. She leaned against the wall and unknowingly opened up the secret entrance to Wild Times.

She saw some sort of tube-slide thing and went for a wild ride and next thing she knew, she was in front of Wild Times. She looked into the window and saw all the preds having fun with no collars. Shocked, the bunny fled in terror.

"Predators, without collars, having fun, running around and eating meat? That is not good, thatis not good at all" she thought "I have to do something about that horrible place. I'll show that pathetic fox"

Later that night in a bar in a dangerous part of Zoo City, a mysterious figure handed an envelope to a strange figure in a trench coat. It was a photo of Nick and his friends at Wild Times.

The next day, Nick returned to his office while eating a chili cheese hot dog.

"This is the life" he said to himself "I'm making money, no more Tame Collars and all the other preds are having fun and are happy for once. I'll bet by next month, my friends and I will be living in a luxury penthouse"

Nick was so distracted by the happy feelingsandjubilationhe felt as he, his friends and fellow predators enjoyed their fun and carefree times, that he didn't notice a mysterious stranger lurking in a dark corner. When he turned  
around, he was shot with a mysterious dart and the mysterious figure walked away. Nick started sweating and drooling and growling and couldn't see things clearly anymore. Nick was going savage.

The fun and enjoyment at Wild Times suddenly came to a halt as the guests were forced to run for their lives as a savage Nick broke out of his office and attempted to attack and bite the other animals.

Nick snapped out of his savage state as soon as all the customers fled.

"Huh?" he rubbed his head "What's going on?"

He noticed the entire place had been wrecked and the ZPD had arrived and his friends looked at him in shock.

"Nick, what happened?" asked Jasper "You went all savage on us and scared off our customers"

"You're under arrest fox!" a cop said as he slammed handcuffs onto Nick's wrists.

"What? What for?" asked Nick.

"For going savage" a gopher cop bitterly said "You predators are disgusting freaks!"

Nick's worst nightmare came true; he went all savage on everyone with his collar off. He was arrested in front of his friends (who fled from the cops as they took Nick away) and Wild Times had been shut down. Some animals were found critically injured  
nearby and now Zootopia's fear and hatred of predators without collars had increased by 94%. Not to mention the special collar removing devices had been made illegal. What was happening? 

* * *

**Author's Note:**

 ****

 **It looks like Nick's worst nightmare has come true. Now, his lifelong dream has been destroyed and he's been arrested. What's going on? What could've caused him to savage? And what of his friends? Where did they go? Stay tuned and find out.**

 ****

 **You thought I forgot about this story, but like I've said; once an author starts a story, he will always do anything to finish it.**


	5. Fox on the Run

It had only been a whole day, but news quickly spread around Zootopia that a fox had gone savage on a bunch of people and prey's had begun to become even more paranoid and panicked when they saw a predator even walk by them.

Mayor Swinton of Zoo City had been holding a press conference that morning.

"Greetings citizens of Zoo City" she said "My name is Mayor Peggy Swinton and I just want you to know that I have created new means to stop the predator menace"

"What is it, Ms. Mayor?" asked a news reporter.

"We haven't worked it out yet" said the mayor "But the Tame Collars will be more mandatory than ever and I will change the age requirement from seven years old to five years old"

"What do you plan to do with the predators who try to resist the shocks?" asked another reporter.

"I will double the security cameras on every street corner and increase the numbers of volts on the collars, just so you know" said Swinton.

In prison, Nick was given a new collar that would give him more painful and somewhat deadly shocks to his body. He walked into his prison cell and started to ponder on what to do next. They didn't even give him his one phone call.

"What am I gonna do?" he wondered "I didn't do anything bad, I know I didn't. Somebody set me up and something in that dart made me go insane! I have to figure out what. But I need to get out of this cell first"

Just then, he noticed that his two cellmates were a bear and a rhino, two of the strongest animals around. He got another brilliant inspiration, using his sly and smart fox brain.

"You know, you two are probably the strongest animals around" Nick told the rhino and bear.

"Why thank you" said the bear "I do say so myself"

"With this horn, I can't eve fail to break something" said the rhino.

"But you know, I heard that bears are probably the strongest ones in the world" Nick said in a sly manner.

"What are you talking about?" asked the rhino "Everybody knows that rhino's are the strongest"

"But the fox said we bears were stronger!" the bear told the rhino.

"You are sadly mistaken, buddy!" the rhino got angry "I have a big horn and bigger muscles, you just got fur and blubber!"

"It's muscle pal!" said the bear.

"Wanna bet?" asked the rhino.

"Ladies first!" said the bear.

"Why don't you guys try bending some bars?" suggested Nick "That way, you can settle this argument"

"Great idea, fox" said the rhino "We settle this Rhino to Bear!"

"Ladies first" said the bear.

The bear and the rhino bent the bars of the cell, allowing Nick to escape his cell.

"Thanks boys" said Nick "I guess you two are equal"

Luckily, the guards were out to lunch and Nick was able to get out of the cell block and next thing he knew, he was in the office of the ZPD with Zootropolis' finest officers hot on his tail.

"It's that fox!" said a cop "Get him!"

The cops then chased after Nick, intending to put him back in his cell.

"So this is what it's like to be a fox on the lam" the fox thought as he ran from the pursing officers.

Battling against the odds, Nick dived off the highest levels of the ZPD lobby to the floor below so he could lose the cops and vice versa.

"Few" Nick sighed of relief "Now I get out of here"

"Not so fast, slick!" said a voice from behind him, it was Officer Judy.

"Aw nuts" said Nick.

"Listen pal! You're going back into that prison where you belong!" Judy exclaimed "Surrender or face the consequences!"

Nick didn't know what to do, so he decided to run some more. Judy put up her tranquilizer and saw Nick running in her direction and froze in fear. Nick realized this was the perfect time to escape and quickly ran past Judy and got right out of the door. He was free from the evils of the ZPD, but not for long.

Soon enough, the cops were still chasing after him.

"I've gotta get outta here" he thought "But how?"

Nick quickly looked around and saw nothing that could possibly help him escape and the cops were still chasing him and gaining up on him. Then, he saw the small town of "Little Rodentia", which as you can probably assume from its name, was a small town built for rodents.

"Gee, that was pretty redundant" Nick told the narrator.

Just wanted to give a little exposition for our readers. Anyways, as I was saying, Nick was small enough to fit into the entrance to Little Rodentia and luckily, the other officers were too large to get inside and follow him.

"Phew" he sighed "That was a close one"

"Not so fast, bub!" Officer Judy said as she entered the tiny town "You may have stricken fear into my bunny heart, but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna stop trying to bring you in, so turn yourself in or else!"

"Never!" Nick exclaimed.

"Alright then" said Judy "We can do this the hard way!"

"I'll run" Nick deadpanned.

Judy started chasing Nick all over the town, but it wasn't an easy escape; the place was as tiny as a toy set, so this meant that Nick had been accidentally stepping on things and tripping over them. This caused Nick to become more stressed and frustrated, so he received more painful shocks from his collar. Judy used this to her advantage and was ready to tranquilize Nick, who was hiding behind a rodent business.

"Hasta la vista, Foxy" she glared at him.

Nick gasped and got up from his hiding place, but accidentally caused a large sign that was shaped like a donut and caused it to roll around the town and nearly flatten most of the rodent citizens. Judy managed to catch the donut just in time as Nick used this opportunity to escape from her.

"That was a close one" he sighed as he exited the tiny town "Now to lay low and find my friends"

As soon as Nick left, Judy had finished putting the donut back up on the building and went outside to apprehend Nick, only to find out that he was gone.

"Oh no" she gulped "How am I going to explain this to Chief Bogo?"

Judy went back to the police station and went into the chief's office to explain everything. Needless to say, he didn't take it so well.

"You lost him" the chief said bluntly "You really lost him?"

"I'm sorry Chief" said Judy "I really tried"

Chief Bogo sighed "Reckless endangerment of innocent rodents, inciting a scurry, letting a prisoner escape. But to be fair, you place a sign back on the only building that wasn't fallen down"

"Sir, it wasn't my fault" said Judy "Honest! That stupid fox did it! I was just trying to my job! I've wanted be a cop my whole life and this is what I trained for"

"Just shut your mouth" said Bogo "Life isn't some stupid little animated movie, where sing a stupid little song and your little dreams come true. So let it go"

"Very funny" Judy deadpanned "But seriously Chief Bogo, give me another chance. Please"

"Okay, here's the deal" said Bogo "I'll give you 48 hours to retrieve that fox. That's two days. But remember, if you strike out, you're outta here"

"Deal" Judy nodded.

Judy went to the town's local security cameras to find out where Nick had gone to. She cracked her fingers and started to tap into the street on where she lost Nick on and finally found out where he was. She then saw that Nick was right by a pay phone.

"I wonder what he's doing by that phone" she thought.

Nick tried going back to his apartment to find his friends, but he saw that the whole place was empty and crawling with cops. Where his friends could've gone was beyond him, so he went over to the pay phone I was talking about.

"If I don't have access to my friends, I guess I'l have to go to extreme measures" he thought.

Nick then put on a trench coat and hat, then went over to a bus.

"Where to?" asked the driver.

"Tundra Town in the Arctic" said Nick "Make it snappy"

As Nick hopped the bus, Judy snapped her fingers and saw this as her perfect opportunity to impress Chief Bogo.

"There you are, you sneaky fox" Judy snickered "Come to mama"

Judy got right off the chair and started to make her way to Tundra Town.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **It looks like Nick's on the run. With his friends out of commission, it looks like he's on his own. Or is he? It looks like he's off to Tundra Town to find some help, but from who? And he'd better find it cause Officer Judy is on his tail! Stay tuned!**


	6. The Truth of the Tame Collar

After hours of riding in the bus, Nick finally made it to Tundra Town. He searched all around for the person he was planning on seeing.

"No sign of Koslov anywhere" he said to himself "And he's the only one who can help clear my name"

"I don't think so, Mr. Wilde" someone said from behind.

"Who said that?" Nick looked around.

"I did you canine criminal!" the voice exclaimed.

It was Judy. She had followed Nick to Tumdra Town and brought out her taser and repellent, specially made for foxes.

"Listen fox! You went savage and escaped from justice, so you're looking at a life sentence!" Judy exclaimed.

"Officer Judy, please" Nick begged "I'm telling you, I'm innocent! Someone darted me with something that made me go insane! I swear!"

"A likely story, fox!" Judy exclaimed "My folks always taught me that foxes are nothing but vile, untrustworthy creatures and I can see they were right! You're going back to the prison and staying there!"

"I tried reasoning with you, Hopps" Nick said "But you keep forcing me to take extreme measures"

Nick ran as fast he could, snatched Judy's tranquilizer and knocked her out cd. But before that happened, Judy went all dizzy and accidentally cuffed herself to Nick.

She got dizzy and fell unconscious"I got you now, !"

As soon as Judy fell asleep, Nick tried to get the cuffs off of him and the rabbit, but no luck at all.

"Guess I'll have to take Judy with me" he thought to himself "Hopefully she won't wake up, since apparently that was her last dart"

Word quickly spread throughout the arctic about Nick's presence. He then found himself near a TV shop and saw a newscast.

"This just in" said the reporter "This fox, Nick Wilde has been spotted in Tundra Town. If you see this guy, please turn him in. No reward"

After laying low for a while, he finally reached Koslov's place. To avoid unwanted attention, he ran into the house, via the back door. He then found himself in the kitchen.

"Okay, now all I have to do is get rid of thedeadwood" he said to himself.

He tries using various methods of escaping the cuffs with the kitchen appliances, but there was no luck whatsoever. All of a sudden, Judy began to open her eyes.

"Huh? What's going on?" she wondered as she slowly opened her eyes.

Just then, she saw herself cuffed and that Nick was cuffed right next to her. This time, Judy got more furious.

"You!" she exclaimed as she pointed at Nick "You sneaky little brat! You chained me up to yourself and dragged me down here, didn't you?"

Before Nick could say anything, he heard one of Koslov's bodyguards approaching. Nick began to panic, but as fast as lightning, Judy grabbed a fur hat to cover herself and hide. Just then, the bodyguard had arrived inside. He glared at him.

"Nothing to see here, just passing through" Nick nervously said.

The two then walked over to Koslov, who was drinking some sort of icy beverage at his bar.

"Excuse me, Koslov..." Nick tapped on the bears shoulder.

"Yes?" Koslov turned around and saw Nick"Oh Nick! So pleased to be seeing you. What is it? What you doing here? No tell me, you come for help right?"

"Yes" Nick nodded "Its really vital that you help me. You see I..."

Nick wasted no time in explaining his problem to the polar bear.

"Holy Tabouleh! This is problem! Those idiot police treating us like garbage!" Koslov said angrily"I will be more than glad to help you. Tell me, what did person who dart you look like?"

Nick cleared his throat "Well, I don't know what he completely looked like, but he was a wolf in a trench coat"

"Oh no" Koslov gasped "No! No! No! Nick, this dangerous. It would be best if you didn't get involved. My guards will escort you out"

Before Nickcould be escorted, Judy got frustrated and revealed herself to the bear.

"Listen bear!" she exclaimed "I don't know who you think you are, but as an officer of the law, I order you to talk or else!"

Koslov got steam in his nostrils "Okay I talk. Boys! Ice her!"

Just then, two polar bears grabbed Judy by the arm and Nick as well. They took the duo to the meat locker to freeze them solid.

"Koslov, why are you doing this?" Nick asked fearfully "I thought we were friends"

"So did I" Koslov bitterly said as he and the guards left.

"Thanks a lot, Judy!" Nick yelled at the bunny "Now I've lost all of my friends because you had to be overzealous!"

"Nick, just shut up and get us out of here" Judy told him.

Nick then used his claw to pick the lock and he got himself and Judy free from the chains and the cuffs. They sneaked into a moveable table, just as a walrus chef was taking it outside somewhere.

"As soon as we get out, I'm taking you back to the station!" Just whispered to him.

"I'm not going back to the station, I'm getting my life back!" Nick whispered.

Before they could argue any more, Nick peeked through the table cloth and saw a party going on.

"Come on, let's go" he whispered to Judy.

Judy and Nick snuck out of the table and crawled underneath the chairs, while Koslov was giving some sort of speech for someone.

"Today, my son Morris is no longer cub" Koslov bluntly said "Today he is..."

"A big bear!" a little cub finished.

"Yes" Koslov nodded "Big bear"

While sneaking out, Judy realized something; this was a taming party, which was a day for predators where they got their Tame Collars.

A polar bear then came with a collar and handed it to Koslov and a small piece of paper.

He read it to Morris "With this collar, Zootopia welcomes you..."

"With this collar, Zootopia welcomes me" Morris parroted.

He continued reading "With this collar, Zootopia celebrates you..."

"With this collar, Zootopia celebrates me" Morris repeated.

Koslov finished reading "And with this collar, Zootopia accepts you!"

"And with this collar, Zootopia accepts me" Morris finished repeating.

Koslov then activated the collar and was about to put it on Morris, but looked scared.

"Is something wrong, daddy?" asked Morris.

"Nothing, son" Koslov said as he reluctantly put the collar on his son's neck.

Morris hugged his father and the other kids started cheering. Morris started jumping for joy when all of a sudden, there was a shock to his body and there was total silence.

Judy looked stunned at this; Koslov had to lie to his joyful son and Morris was just a little boy. Not to mention he got zapped. Seriously, he's just a then turned to Nick, who could feel the pain Morris just felt. He then made a silent  
gesture for her to keep going.

The duo then continued making their escape and finally got towards the exit, when they suddenly ran into the bodyguards.

"Halt!" one of them ordered as he held out his gun.

"Can we talk about this?" Nick gulped.

"No" the bodyguards bluntly said.

The Bears then fired their guns at Nick, who used to Judy to shield himself from the darts. He then ran to a snowmobile and started to make a quick getaway, but then he felt guilty about leaving Judy.

"I don't want to do this, but I made it my goal to prove to everyone I'm different" he thought.

He then drove the snowmobile back to where Judy was and grabbed her right into the snowmobile.

Using his newfound drivingskills, Nick escaped right into the Tundra Mountains, safe from the guards. He then drove himself all the way to the country ofSahara Square, where he found a safe spot to hide and where Judy started to wake up.

"Huh? W-what's going on?" she wondered, then she saw Nick "Nick? What's going on?"

"I saved your life, Carrots" Nick folded his arms.

"Why would you do that? You're a predator" Judy told him.

"I'm a predator, but that doesn't mean I'm a monster" Nick told her.

"Well I'm sorry for not believing you about the wolf, but I still don't trust you" said Judy "My parents always taught me that your people are untrustworthy jerks and I intend to find out if they were right"

"Very well then, how do we do that?" asked Nick.

"It's simple" Judy said as she took out a notebook "While I was following you, I managed to get the license numbers of Koslov's drivers"

"You got their plate numbers? Did you get their addresses?" asked Nick.

"Yes" Judy nodded "My plan is to ask these drivers about this wolf character you speak of. They might provide some valuable clues that might assist us"

"So, who do we do first?" asked Nick.

"This guy!" Judy pointed to an address on the notebook "His name is Mr. Manchas. He lives in the rainforest. I think he might have some information"

"Then let's go to the rainforest!" Nick exclaimed.

Nick and Judy then hopped a bus to the next country, the Rainforest. 

* * *

**Author's Note:**

 **It looks like Nick has found a reluctant ally in Officer Judy, who has become aware of the pain that predators have to go through on the days of getting their Tame Collars. Now that Judy knows that Nick's innocent, the two of them must work together to clear Nick's name and find out the mysterious identity of this so-called suspect.**


	7. Rumble in the Rainforest

Nick and Judy had been on their way to the Rainforest, but all the while, they had been having an argument.

"You know, you never should've threatened Koslov like that" said the fox "We could be gotten killed! When you're a cop, you never reveal yourself to a crime boss! Never! Ever!"

"Okay, I get it" Judy said, annoyed "It was a stupid thing to do, sheesh"

"You bet it was!" Nick exclaimed "You bunnies are so cute, but so dumb"

"You probably didn't know this pal, but bunnies can call other bunnies 'cute', but when other animals do it, it's kinda offensive" Judy explained.

"Thanks for that info, I'll be sure to remember it" Nick said sarcastically.

"Whatever" said Judy "Let's just get this over with"

Nick and Judy finally arrived at Mancha's house, which was across a bridge on the canopy.

Judy rang the doorbell "Mr. Mancha's...my name is Judy Hopps of the ZPD and we don't want any trouble, we just want to know about a trench coated wolf"

The door cracked open a little and revealed a jaguar, looking a little scared.

"Get away from me!" he gasped "You...you...prey!"

"It's okay" said Nick "She's cool. We just want to know about a wolf wearing a trench coat, that's all"

"You really should be asking...about ME!" Mancha's revealed that his face with a black eye and scratches.

"Whoa, the wolf did that to you?" Nick asked, shocked.

"Get away!" Mancha said, fearfully "Leave me alone!"

"Mr. Mancha's, please, we're here to help you" Judy assured him "So please in your own words, tell us what happened"

Mancha's looked at the duo, but then finally agreed "Very well, then. Here's what happened; I was just driving along with my client, Emmitt Otterton. The wolf was my other client, so he joined us. We were driving along when all of a sudden...something happened! Otterton attacked me! He was an animal! He went wild, kept screaming about something called 'Night Howlers'. That was when the wolf had vanished and I was attacked mercilessly!"

"Anything else?" asked Judy.

Mancha's continued "After the attack, the wolf threatened my life and told me to bring him to the hotel in Sahara Square. Apparently, he's staying in the presidential suite, you might find him there"

"Looks like we have a lead" said Nick "Come on, Judy! Let's go!"

Judy turned to Manchas "Thanks Mr. Mancha's. Is there anything else you can-"

Just then, Manchas started growling, went down on four legs and stared at Nick and Judy was scary eyes. He then leaped out of the house and ran into the night.

"Where'd he go?" Judy looked around.

Nick and Judy went outside and saw Manchas standing on a long tree branch like some sort of wild jaguar. He was in a bloodthirsty, savage state...just like Nick was.

"Shall I do the honors?" asked Nick.

"Do let's" Judy added.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" Nick screamed.

Nick and Judy ran from Manchas, who was chasing them like they were his runaway dinner. They tried to run away, but they were no match for Manchas fancy footwork. Luckily, Judy was a rabbit, so her strong legs could make her hop really fast. Unfortunately, since Nick wasn't very hoppity, so Manchas managed to catch up with him. Mancha's roared and swiped his claw on Nick's collar, which caused a huge painful shock to his body. Before Judy could do anything, Nick stumbled onto her, seeing the duo flying off the canopy and right into the waterfall down below.

Judy managed to make it out of the water "Nick! Nick! Nick! Where are you? Nick!"

Just then, she saw an unconscious Nick floating down the river. She gasped, swam over to him, picked him up and took him out of the river.

"Nick! Are you okay?" she asked him "Nick?!"

Nick didn't respond. He was totally unconscious and full of water.

"Oh my God! I gotta do something!" she thought to herself.

In Nick's subconscious mind, he was prancing in a field with his friends without their terrible shock collars. The world was free, the sky was shining and there was nothing to stop him from having fun.

Just as he and Finnick were frolicking through the flowers, Nick woke up from his wonderful dream and found himself in some strange place, with a strange figure looking down on him.

"Huh?" he squinted his eyes "Wh-what's going on? Where...am I?"

Nick looked around and saw there were photos of bunnies and he was in some sort of living room. It was like nothing he had ever seen.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty" said Judy.

"Huh? What's going on?" he asked "Where am I? And why do I feel like I've been down a waterfall?"

"Mr. Wilde, you're in my house" the rabbit replied "I rescued you and brought you back here when you were drowning. I patched you up and nursed you back to health"

Nick couldn't believe it...a bunny actually saved his life.

"Yeah, I know you're shocked" Judy smirked "Just don't tell anyone"

Judy then handed Nick a small tray of food.

"Here, you'll need some nourishment" she said to him.

Nick started to eat the food "Gee...thanks"

"No problem big guy" Judy smiled back "It's in my police code of honor. I called the chief earlier about Macnhas. He's gotta have found him by now"

"Gee, this place sure is kinda...small" Nick looked around.

"Yeah, I don't have a lot of money, so I can't exactly afford a bigger place yet" said Judy.

"I thought in Zootopia, prey's got everything" Nick said back.

"Yeah, well I only started this job a few weeks ago" Judy replied "So, yeah. Besides, I have to turn you in alive"

"Huh?" asked Nick.

Judy started to explain "I told Chief Bogo that I'd bring you back to the station in 48 hours and I only have twelve hours left to turn you in"

"What?!" Nick asked, shocked.

Judy continued "But hear me out; I now know it wasn't your fault, Nick and I really need your help to solve this case on what's going on with the missing animals"

Before Nick could say anything, someone knocked on Judy's door. She opened the door and saw two people she thought she'd never see for a long time...her mother and father, Stu and Bonnie Hopps.

"Hey Mom...hey Dad" she said nervously "What an...unexpected turn of events"

"Hey there Jude the Dude" said Stu "How's everything been in Zoo City?"

"Oh...just fine...I'm on a big case now" Judy nervously chuckled.

"Well that is no excuse for not calling us everyday!" Bonnie exclaimed "You could've gotten killed by one of those horrible predators we've been reading about!"

Thanks to Nick's good hearing abilities (and the fact that Bonnie was saying that out loud), he was able to overhear what was going on. He walked over to see what was happening.

"Judy, what's going on?" he asked.

Just then, Judy's parents gasped at the very sight of seeing a fox with Judy. Now if you read one of our previous chapters, Judy's parents always told her that foxes were the worst predators of them all and somehow, she pretty much agreed with them.

"JUDITH HONEY HOPPS! WHAT IS THAT...THAT...FOX DOING NEXT TO YOU?!" Stu angrily asked "Didn't you use that fox taser I gave you?"

"Wait, what?" Nick asked, confused.

"Dad, I can explain" she said "He's not just a fox, he's with me. He's...he's...he's..."

"Oh my God! Is he your BOYFRIEND?!" Stu jumped to a false conclusion.

"No! No!" Judy quickly assured them, while blushing a little "He's just-"

"Look, I've got a tight schedule to do, so I think ya'll had better go" Nick said as he turned to leave.

"Yeah. Let that fox leave" said Stu.

"No, Dad! His name is Nick!" Judy retorted "He's helping me with an important assignment and he's my friend and if you can't handle it, just hang up!"

Just then, one Judy's siblings noticed something on her coat rack. It was some sort of orange vest and blue hat.

"Hey Judy! If you're working a big case, why do you have a meter maid vest and hat?" asked her brother.

"She's not a meter maid, Thomas" said Bonnie "She's a real cop. She's got a fancy car and everything. Isn't that right, honey?"

Judy got even more nervous and gulped real hard "Well...um...you see...I...um...technically not a real...cop...yet"

"Judy's a meter maid?" Nick thought "No wonder she doesn't have a car"

"Judy...you lied to us" said her mother.

Judy tried to explain "Mom, listen I-"

"That does it young lady! Pack up your rinky dink furniture and get out of here!" Stu sternly said "You're going home right now and never coming back! No ifs or buts about it!"

Stu grabbed Judy's arm and started to drag her out of the apartment.

Judy tried to reason again "But, Dad-"

"No buts, young lady!" Stu exclaimed "I told you that becoming a cop and coming to the main city of Zootopia was a stupid idea! Now you're lying and...other things"

By 'other things', Stu was referring to his assumption that Judy was in love with a fox, let alone associating with one.

"And don't think I don't read current events, I know that's the fox that caused this horrible savage breakout!" Stu continued "I can't believe you're actually hanging out with a criminal. Back to Bunny Burrow!"

When Stu was taking Judy out of the house, Nick blocked the front door.

"Now hold on a minute, sir" said Nick "So what if Judy lied about being a meter maid? Just look at that vest! I can't blame her for what she did! If I was a meter maid, I'd lie about it as well"

Judy was amazed. Nick, the fox who she was after was actually sticking up for her? Now that was something she never thought a fox was capable of.

Nick continued "Listen sir, when I met Flopsy McCopsy, I didn't think she was a good cop and that she was going to get stepped on. But you know what she's shown me? She's shown me that she's more than capable of pursuing something and determination, she's capable of police work and getting further in her goals. So Mr. Hopps, you can either take her back to Bunny Burrow and make her be a boring old farmer or you can keep her here and let her finish trying to stop this insane crisis. After all, we only have twelve hours left to do this case and to prove that Officer Judy can be the best rabbit cop Zootopia has ever had. All I'm saying is that you should...give her a chance"

Judy smiled at Nick as he put his arm around her shoulder.

"Well, I guess we can give her twelve hours" said Bonnie "What do you think, Stu?"

"I guess" Stu shrugged.

"Good" Nick said as he opened the front door "Now go on back to your country paradise and leave everything to me and Judy. Drive safely"

The Hopps family all walked out of the apartment, but Stu then asked another question.

"Just be careful of that savage panther on the loose" said Stu "I heard he could be dangerous"

"What're you talking about, Dad?" asked Judy "The police got him"

"No he's still out there" said Bonnie "It's been all over the news these past several hours"

"Well um...thanks for warning me goodbye!" Judy said as she pushed everyone out of the house.

"Are you sure he's not your boyfriend?" asked Stu.

"Get out!" Judy closed the door "Whew. That got rid of them. Now, come with me, there's something I have to show you"

Judy led Nick to her bedroom for something possibly important. Judy opened the door and Nick was surprised at what he saw...

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I told you this story ain't dead! Here's more of the story and it looks like it's about to get interesting for both Nick's warming up to Judy and Judy's determination to investigate this. Stay tuned for more.**


	8. Find Yourself a Predator Today

Judy's bedroom was chock full of police forms, tons of equipment, pictures and case notes.

"Whoa" said Nick "Judy what's all this?"

"It's all that's been going on here in Zootopia" Judy replied "Recently in the past couple of weeks, there have been fourteen animals that have been attacking . All of these missing animals are predators and they all had their collars off the last time they were seen."

"Looks like I'm not the only one" Nick remarked.

Judy reached into her pocket and took out some sort of key "Nick...hold still"

Judy walked over to Nick and inserted the key into his collar and to Nick's surprise...he was free...free from his shocking prison (no pun intended).

Nick felt his now-bare neck and was surprised by what Judy had done.

"Judy...my collar...it's gone..." he silently gasped. "Why did you do that? You know I went savage and crazy back there and you know why I have this on. Why did you do that?"

"Because...I trust you..." She replied.

"Gee Judy...thanks" Nick said, surprised.

Nick couldn't believe it. Judy, a cop, a little bunny no less had actually trusted him.

"Don't enjoy it too much, I'm still putting you back in your collar when we continue the investigation." said Judy. "I have been looking into my board of the feral animals, and I realized that all of them have been captured, and I figured that since you haven't been captured yet, you might be able to help me track down to where they might be."

"And how would I do that?" asked Nick.

"You'll pretend to go feral and attack me, and then, the person who tracked you will take you to wherever the other animals might be." Judy explained. "Then, I'll follow them and you'll let me inside of wherever they took you."

"Gee, that's not a bad idea." said Nick. "Come on, let's get to work!"

"First thing's first, though..." Judy said as she put the collar back on Nick. "There! We can't draw any unwanted attention to ourselves."

"Well, that experience was short lived." Nick deadpanned.

Nick and Judy walked out of Judy's apartment and decided to continue with the investigation. While on the way, Judy was thinking about what she and Nick had been through the entire adventure. At first, she hated Nick and only brought him along for convenience, but then, he stood up for her. Nobody had ever done that for her before.

"You know Nick, I never really thanked you for helping me back there with Chief Bogo..." said Judy.

"Don't mention it, Jude." Nick handwaved her.

"But I'm confused. Why would you stick up for me after all I've done to you? I don't understand..." Judy continued.

Nick sighed "When I saw what was going on back there, it reminded me should never let people get you down or to you"

"Why? Do you ever let people get you down?" asked Judy.

"Not anymore" Nick sighed "But...I was small and emotionally sensitive like you once."

"Very funny" Judy deadpanned.

"No, I'm serious" said Nick "I think I was maybe eight or nine when it happened..."

* * *

 **FLASHBACK TIME BABY!**

Many years ago, Nick's dear old dad, John Wilde had been looking for work to provide for his son after the recent passing of his wife. He and his son, Nick were living on the streets and desperate for money and food. Luckily, John had a long term plan to make their wonderful fortune and all animals in Zoo City happy...

"Wilde and Son's Suitopia!" John proudly said to the bankers "A wonderful place to get new, wonderful suits! Courtesy of me, John Wilde and my son, Nick!"

"Yeah" Nick agreed "It's gonna be great! We'll make a bunch of suits and a special one for you for free"

"All we need is the funding from you" said John "So, what do you say?"

For the tailor shop, John managed to acquire an old one to set up shop in, but it was all old and broken and hardly anyone noticed it. The idea wasn't approved the banks and John's loan application was denied because he and Nick were predators. They were back out on the streets with nothing.

"What do we do now, dad?" asked Nick.

"I don't know son" said John "But don't worry. We'll make it through. We always do"

Nick and John tried other ways to make money, but they couldn't find any decent form of work that would hire them. Usually, they would be lucky as to find five cents on the ground or a dollar bill. One day, Nick and John were taking a nice walk together when all of a sudden, some large animals pushed them both.

"Watch where you're going, you fool!" the rhino rudely exclaimed.

"You watch where you're going!" John shouted to the rhino.

Just then, John's collar went off and it caused the other animals to separate the father and son from each other. Nick and John tried looking for each other, but they couldn't find each other in such a big crowd. Even during nighttime, they couldn't find each other.

Nick was determined not to let this get to him and keep finding his father, but along the way, he ran into some familiar faces, who tripped him, causing him to land on the sidewalk.

"Huh?" he looked around, confused.

It was the prey bullies from school.

"Well, well if it isn't Nick Wilde?" a beaver folded his arms "What are you doing out here all alone?"

"Nothing...I was just looking for my dad..." Nick said fearfully.

"Oh really?" a zebra asked in mocking tone "Here that? Widdle Nicky misses his daddy!"

"Well, if you want to make it through these streets alive, you'll have to not go savage, so we're going to give you something" the beaver smirked "Get him boys!"

The prey bullies dog-piled on Nick and started beating him up. Nick tried to get away, but he was outnumbered by them. The beaver then took out a muzzle and strapped it around Nick's muzzle.

"There!" the beaver laughed "You sure are properly dressed now! Because foxes are useless, untrustworthy, vile, pathetic animals who deserve to be muzzled and put in cages!"

The other bullies started laughing mercilessly at Nick's demise and the little fox cub ran away to get the muzzle off. Even though he was far away from the bullies, he could still hear their irritating laughter. Soon enough, Nick ran away to underneath a bridge and was finally able to pull the muzzle off. Still emotionally scarred by what the bullies did to him, he started to sob and give up hope on ever finding his dad. Nick...was alone.

 **END OF FLASHBACK!**

* * *

"...it was the worst day of my life" Nick finished. "Eventually, I ran into my friends and I moved in with Fennick. It was okay living with him, but it just wasn't the same without my parents. Times became tough for me and my friends and soon enough, I had to face the fact that I would probably never see my folks again. Throughout those hardships, I had learned two things; number one is to never let people get you down..."

"And number two?" asked Judy.

Nick sighed "If the world is only going to see a fox as a horrible and untrustworthy being...so be it."

"You're more than that, Nick" Judy tried to comfort him "I know you are"

Judy tried placing her hand on Nick's arm for comfort, but the fox quickly turned away from her.

He put his finger on his ear and started looking at the traffic, "Anyways, how on Earth are you gonna track me down?"

"The Jam Cams!" Judy exclaimed. "The Jam Cams record everything, so they will help me track down whoever is taking you. Unfortunately, I'm not in the Computer System yet, and Chief Bogo is probably not gonna let me use any after what happened."

"So how are you gonna use the cameras?" asked Judy.

"Luckily, I have an old personal friend of mine works at City Hall, so she will probably help." said Judy.

"That's good to know." said Nick. "But how are you gonna track me down? What if the people head somewhere without monitors?"

Judy then placed some sort of beeping thing on Nick's tie. "This transmitter will help just in case."

The two then went downtown, where there weren't a lot of people.

"Okay Nick, I'm going to City Hall now to see my friend." said Judy. "You

Judy and Nick went to City Hall, where a sheep was using a computer on a desk.

"Judy!" said the sheep "What are you doing here?"

"Hiya Dawn" Judy waved her hand "We need your help with something"

"What is it, Judy?" asked Dawn.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Nick asked Dawn.

"Oh sorry" Judy chuckled "Nick, this is my old friend, Dawn Bellwether. Dawn, this is Nick"

"Charmed to make your acquaintance, Dawn" Nick said as he held out his hand.

Dawn looked nervous at shaking Nick's hand "Uh...nice to meet you too...Nick. So Judy...what are you doing here?"

Judy wasted no time in explaining the situation to Dawn. Dawn then agreed to help the duo on their mission and took them to the traffic cam monitors in her office, which was nothing more than a broom closet.

"Okay, now what do you want me to do?" asked Dawn.

"We want your to tap into the rainforest cameras and help us figure out what happened to a certain panther we encountered before." Judy explained.

"Sure" said Dawn "Just give me a minute..."

While Dawn was tapping into the camera footage, Nick noticed the fluffy wool on her head and started playing with it, much to Judy's shock.

"Oh my God..." he whispered "It's so fluffy. Sheep never let me get so close to them. It's like cotton candy, but without the stickiness"

"Stop that!" Judy sternly whispered and flicked Nick's hands away "You can't just touch a sheep's wool like that!"

"Where in the rainforest do you want me to go to?" asked Dawn.

"Vine and Tujunga" Judy replied.

Dawn typed in some more on the keyboard and various pin marks were shown on the screen for Vine and Tujunga.

"These are all the cameras on the Vine and Tujunga area" said Dawn "I think I might find playback tapes on the missing jaguar. This is pretty exciting, I never get to do anything important"

"But you're the assistant mayor" said Judy.

"Yeah, but I'm more of a glorified secretary at best" said Dawn "I think Swinton just wanted a lowly assistant. Sometimes, he calls me 'Smellweather' and I'd better go clear her afternoon. See ya!"

Dawn walked out of the office to go help the mayor.

"You think she counts herself when she goes to sleep?" Nick whispered.

"Oh shut up!" Judy said, annoyed.

Judy then went to the computer and saw the playback tapes on Mr. Manchas. Just then, a truck arrived and there were some people coming out of it. In that same playback, Machas was going feral and trying to back away from the wolves.

"What are those guys?" asked Judy.

"Timberwolves, Judy" said Nick "They're always howling. Betcha they're going to howl any second now"

Just then, the wolves shot a net at the panther and took him away into their truck. Before they did that, they started howling like well...what else? Wolves.

"Told you, so" Nick deadpanned "Seriously, why do we canines have to howl all the time?"

"Wait a minute..." Judy thought for a moment "Mr. Manchas was talking about Night Howlers and wolves howl at nighttime, so he must've meant them and those were probably the trench coated wolves we were asking him about before!"

"And if those wolves took Mr. Manchas, I bet they took Otterton too" added Nick.

"The question now is; where are they going?" Judy tapped her cheek.

Nick cleared his throat and made it to the monitor "Well if I were to get away with something illegal and avoid video surveillance, and I'm not saying I ever have, I would take the maintenance tunnel 6B, which would put them out..."

Nick changed the surveillance tape and saw the van crossing another lane.

"...right there!" Nick snapped his fingers.

"Wow look at you, Mr. Junior Detective" Judy smirked "I think you'd actually make a good cop"

"Yeah, I probably would" Nick remarked as he continued to search the surveillance tapes "Acacia Alley? Ficus Underpass. South Canyon"

"They're heading out of town" Judy concluded "So, wherever they're headed to must be somewhere in that area. Come on, let's go!"

* * *

Later, the two went to some random, dark place, ready to put their plan into action.

"Okay, here's the tracker." Judy said as she put the tracker on Nick's collar. "Now go crazy and feral. I'll be following you via my car."

Judy then hopped out of the alleyway and gave Nick the signal.

Nick started growling and running about like a crazed psycho. After waiting for a while, the same wolves who took Manchas shot a net right at Nick and carried him into the truck, where they drove off to the outskirts of town.

"Hang on Nick, I'm coming to save ya!" Judy said as she started the car.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Looks like Nick and Judy are finally seeing each other eye to eye. Not to mention they've got a lead on what is possibly going on. Stay tuned for more! Like I said, once an author has started, he keeps going to the finish.**


	9. One Lying Lion

**Author's Note:**

 **Well, you thought this story was over, but this story is far from over! Once he's started, an author never stops until he has finished the story. Let's see what Nick and Judy are up to now that they've tracked down the culprit. It's been around a year, but I'm still in the saddle.**

* * *

As you may recall from last time, Nick and Judy had found a lead on their suspects and headed outside of town to catch them. She passed off Nick as a feral fox and they took him to some remote location on the outskirts of town.

She followed the tracking device to some strange building, where two wolves were guarding it.

"Rats! Guard wolves!" She thought. "How am I gonna get past them?"

She pondered for a moment and then, she came up with an idea.

"ARROOOOO!" She howled in a whispering way.

Just then, the wolves started howling like crazy.

"Ugh! Curse this gut instinct...ARROOOOO!" the first wolf howled. "AROOOO!"

"Don't do that..." the second wolf strained. "You're gonna...AARRRROOOO! Make me do it too! ARROOOOO!"

"Come on, let's...ARRROOOOO...get outta here!" the second wolf struggled to stop howling.

The two wolves then went away to get themselves under control.

Judy ran past the security bar and headed right towards building to see what was going on. She couldn't just walk inside, she would get caught. Just then, she turned around and saw the air vent. The duo then walked into the vent and started crawling upstairs.

"For a vent, it's actually pretty roomy." She remarked to herself. "I guess this is what happens when you are as small as a bunny or a fox."

Just then, she turned her attention to some sort of glowing room from one of the vent ducts. "Look! I think I see something!"

Using her bunny-leg power, Judy kicked open the vent door and the two unlikely pair went down to the floor, where he found Nick in some sort of containment cell.

"Bout time you arrived, Carrots." said Nick. "I was getting worried."

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here." Judy said as she pressed a red button that opened up Nick's cell.

"Gee Judy, I'm impressed." Nick folded his arms.

"That's an advantage that comes with being a rabbit." Judy giggled. "You know Nick, I'm starting to think I misjudged you. I mean sure, you may seem a little rough around the edges, but when you get past the canines, snarks, deceit, sneakiness, and claws, you're a pretty smart and resourceful guy."

"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself." Nick deadpanned. "But anyways, this is where all the missing mammals are located. Take a look!"

Judy turned on her flashlight and saw that there were cages everywhere and animals were inside all of them, acting feral and freaky.

"Nick! Look!" Judy exclaimed. "These are all the animals that have gone feral! Emmet Otterton, Mr. Manchas, everyone! But where could they be coming from?"

Suddenly, there was some sort of noise coming from outside the room.

Judy gasped. "Someone's coming! Quick hide!"

The two slinked over to behind a cabinet and saw a lion and an armadillo coming into the door.

Nick gasped. "It's him! That's the guy who is running this operation!"

"I don't want to hear excuses!" the lion roared. "I want to hear results!"

"Mr. Lionheart, please, we're doing everything we can." the armadillo said meekly.

Judy used this opportunity to record the conversation on video.

Lionhearted continued scolding the man, "Really? Cuz I got a dozen and a half animals here who've gone off the rails crazy- and you can't tell me why. Now, I'd call that awfully far from doing everything you can!"

Just then, Lionheart's collar went off.

"Ugh!" he growled. "Stupid shock collar!"

"Sir, it may be time to consider their biological components." the armadillo explained.

"What the heck are you talking about?" asked Lionheart.

The doctor began to explain, "Well, the only animals going savage are predators, and we have to let people know we have them! We cannot keep it a secret forever!"

"Hmm... Great idea. Tell the public..." Lionheart sarcastically said. "And how do you think they're gonna react? How do you think this will affect the rest of predator-kind? ZOOTOPIA WILL BE RUINED!"

The shock collar went off again after Lionheart's outburst.

"Well, what if Swinton and Bogo find out?" asked the doctor.

"They don't know, and we are going to keep it that way!" Lionheart sternly said.

Just then, Judy's phone rang. It was her nosy parents again. She frantically tried to silence her phone, but that didn't go unnoticed.

"Someone's here!" Lionheart gasped.

The doctor gasped. "Sir, you need to go, now!"

As soon as Lionheart left, the badger pushed on the intercom. "Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Security! Sweep the area!"

The alarm sounded really loud.

"Let's get outta here!" Nick exclaimed.

"Why not?" Judy shrugged.

The intrepid duo tried to get to the exit, but the door to the cell triggered shut. Just then, the wolf guards approached them. Judy panicked and tried to think of some way to escape. Just then, she saw the giant toilet conveniently located in the cell.

"Nick! Can you swim?" she asked Nick.

"Sure...why?" Nick replied.

Judy grabbed Nick's arm, jumped into the toilet, and flushed themselves down. Just then, the wolves stormed in, searching for the intruders...and saw swirling toilet water disappearing down the drain.

Hopps and Nick fly through the water slide like tubes of the sewer system, cascading over a waterfall. Both scream. They land in the river below.

Nick popped up first, wondering where Judy was. "Judy?! JUDY?! COME ON! JUDY!"

Judy emerged, gasping for breath, holding up her bagged phone. "We gotta tell Bogo! Come on!"

* * *

Back at Chief Bogo's office, he was busy doing some sort of important business (he was using some kind of Gazelle dancing application for his phone), when all of a sudden, one of the cops barged in.

"Chief Bogo!" the cop screamed.

"Not now!" Bogo put his phone down.

"Wait, is that Gazelle?" asked the cop.

"No!" Bogo said, trying to silence his phone.

"I am Gazelle, and you are one hot dancer...Chief Bogo." Gazelle said on the application.

"Hogjowls, can't you see I'm working on the feral animal cases?!" Bogo barked.

"That's what I came to talk to you about sir..." said Hogjowls, breathing heavily. "... Officer Hopps just called... She found all of 'em..."

Bogo's eyes widened. "Wow! I'm impressed. Rally up the troops and get us down to where she is, right now!"

Meanwhile, Nick climbed out of the river and back onto dry land.

"A little help?" Judy held out her hand as she tried to climb out.

"Sure." Nick grabbed her arms and helped her get out.

She smiled at Nick, and he did the same, feeling a bit fuzzy inside. Just then, they noticed they were still holding hands, to which they quickly pulled away.

"Boy, that was a bit weird..." Nick chuckled.

"Yeah, weird..." Judy blushed.

* * *

Eventually, police cars and helicopters surrounded the asylum, coming to arrest Lionheart and his cronies. Judy, flanked by Bogo and other cops, took Lionheart out of the building and into the police car.

"Leodore Lionheart, you have the right to remain silent!" She snapped. "Anything you say or do will be used against you in a court of law!"

"But you don't understand. I was trying to protect the city!" Lionheart tried to explain.

Judy barked. "You were just trying to protect your reputation and not accept the truth!"

Lionheart tried to talk to Judy. "Listen, we still don't know why this is happening. It could destroy Zootopia for good!"

"Tell to the judge you creep!" Judy slammed the door in Lionheart's face. "Now to get back to the station and sort this out. Come on, Nick!"

"Coming Judy!" Nick said, proudly flashing his Junior Detective badge.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Like I said, once an author has started, he keeps on doing it. Stay tuned for the next chapter really soon.**


End file.
